Mail-box.



L. V. ROOD.

MAIL B0X'L APPLICATION PILBD $31,122, 1909.

Patented May 31, 1910.

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LLOYD VINCENT ROOD, OF FIARET'A, GHO.

MAIL-BOX.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LLOYD V. Roon, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Marr etta, in the county of vWashington and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Mail-Box, of which the following is a speciiication.

rllhis invention relates to improvements in mail boxes and the object of the invention is to provide a mail box for use upon apartments or buildings which will be so constructed as to permit the mail to be easily deposited therein and by which an alarm will be sounded so as to notify the occupants of the apartment or building` whenever mail is deposited.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the box that mail can not be deposited without sounding the alarm and the box cannot be opened from the outside of the building so as to withdraw the mail.

These objects are attained in the use of the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the invention consists in certain novel features of the same as will be hereinafter rst fully described and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a mail box embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. et is a detail horizontal section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, I have shown the letter box applied to a door 1, but it is to be un derstood that the box may be applied to the wall of a building or otherwise arranged for use. rThe box comprises a receptacle 2 for the mail which is secured in any convenient or preferred manner upon the outer side of the door or wall and is provided in its back with an opening registering with a slot 4 in the wall or door while within the receptacle above and below the opening 3 are pulleys 5, the function of which will presently appear. The frontside, 6, of the mail box is hinged at its lower edge to the bottom of the box, as indicated at 7, whereby the said front side constitutes a door which may be swung downward to permit the withdrawal of the mail by the proper party. The side edges of the door 6 are doubled on themselves and bent backward to provide parallel ianges 8 which will fit Specification of Letters Patent. Patmfed May 31, 1910,

Application led September 22. 1909.

Serial No. 513,942.

closely against the sides of the box and around the edges of the same, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to prevent the insertion of a wire or other instrument between the door and the body of the box to extract the mail and also to protect the contents of the box against the entrance of rain orsnow.

At the upper end of the back of the box a cover is secured by means of hinges 10, the said cover being composed of two plates or sections, the outer section, 9, of which has a swinging movement only and the lower or inner section of which, 9, is slidably carried by the said outer section. The side edges of the outer section 9 are extended beyond the sides of the box and doubled backward on themselves to provide grooves or spaces 11 in which the edges of the slidable section lit and move, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3, and below the said grooves, spaces or guides, the sides are turned downward to provide flanges 11 which tit against the sides of the box and are provided at their front ends with extensions constituting a bail 12 which passes around the upper end of the door G and thereby serves to hold said door in its closed position, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1. The said outer section or plate 9 of the cover or closure terminates short of the front side of the box and the slidable section 9 projects beyond the said outer section 9 and is provided with a handle 13 by which it may be manipulated, the said handle being carried by a down-turned lip or liange 14 at the front edge of the slidable section which depends in front of the door 6 and the bail 12 and is adapted to bear against the same when the slide is in its retracted position so as to limit the inward movement of the slide and thereby prevent the outer corner of the box being exposed, consequently preventing the extraction of the mail through the top of the box by the use of a wire or other instrument. The slide is provided with a transverse slot 15 through which the mail may be deposited in the box when the slide has been drawn ou t, as indicated in heavy dotted lines in Fig. 1, to bring the said slot into view. On its under side, the slide is provided with cleats or flanges 16 adapted to engage the guides or ribs 17 on the inner faces of the sides of the box and thereby be held in its proper position and guided in its movements, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3.

On the inner side of the door or at some other point within the apartment, I secure a plate or block 18 carrying a bell 19 which is of an ordinary type and is not illustrated in detail. This bell is provided with an outstanding lever or operating arm 19 and the said arm is engaged by a hook 20 at the inner end of al chain or other flexible connection 21 which extends up from the bell and passes over a pulley 22 on the bloclr 18, and through an opening 18 therein and the slot in the door and between the pulleys 5, its outer end being permanently secured to the slide 9. A spring 23 is attached to the block 18 and to the chain so as to act on the said chain or other flexible connection in opposition to the slide 9. The hook 20 is formed with a large ring or eye 24 at: its upper end which will limit the outward movement of the chain by coming into contact with the housing or casing 25 in which the pulley 22 is journaled.

The operation and advantages ot my device will be readily understood and appreciated. The guides or ribs 17 and the cleats 16 are otl such a length that the cover or closure cannot be raised unless the slide is fully withdrawn and the chain 21, when connected to the bell, will permit the slide to be withdrawn just enough to uncover the slot 15 and thereby permit the mail to be deposited within the receptacle. 1n order, therefore, to remove the mail from the receptacle it is necessary for the occupant ot the apartment to disengage the hook 2O from the lever or operating arm 19 of the bell so that the slide may have an additional movement sutlicient to carry the cleats 16 beyond the front ends of the guides or ribs 17 and thereby clear the same. The cover may then be swung upward so that the bail 12 will be carried out of engagement with the upper end of the door 6 which can then be lowered, as indicated by the lighter dotted lines in Fig. 1, so that the mail may be removed. It will be readily seen that when the slide is thrown out to permit the insertion ot the mail, the bell 19 will be sounded and the occupants of the apartment thereby notified that mail has been placed in the box. YVhen the postman releases the slide, the spring 28 at once withdraws the slide so as to bring the slot therein under the cover 9 and consequently prevent the insertion ot a wire or other instrument through the slot to extract the mail. The occupant of the apartment then disengages the hook 2O from the handle or level' 19 of the bell so that the slide may have an additional movement sutlicient to carry the cleats 16 clear of the guides or ribs 17 and consequently permit the opening of the box and the withdrawal of the mail as described, the ring 24C coming into contact with the housing 25 and thereby preventing the lifting of the cover to such an extent as to withdraw the chain. After the owner of the box has removed the mail, he closes the box and again engages the hook 20 in the arm 19 and thereby locks the box against its unauthorized use.

The device is extremely simple in its construction, will thoroughly protect the mail against the action of the elements and will positively sound an alarm when mail is being inserted so that the owner of the mail will be promptly notified. The device will be supplied to purchasers with the bell, the spring, and the pulley 22 mounted on the plate 18, In fitting the mail box to a door or partition, it will then be necessary merely to bore a horizontal opening through the door or partition, secure the mail receptacle 2 and the block or plate 18 in position, and then connect the chain 21 to the hook 20 and the spring 23.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is 1. The combination of a mail box, a downwardly swinging door arranged to close the front thereot', a swinging cover on the upper end of the box terminating short ot' the front of the box and provided with a bail engaging the upper end ot the door, a slotted slide mounted on the under side of said cover and normally covering the upper end ot' the box between the front side thereoi2 and th-e front end of the cover, and means tor limiting the movement of the slide and for holding the cover normally in its closed position.

2. The combination of a mail box, a swinging cover therefor, a slide on the cover controlling the admission of matter to the box, a pulley arranged in rear of the box, a bell below the pulley, a housing for the pulley, a chain attached to the slide and extending over the pulley, and depending therefrom through the housing, a spring secured to the end ot' the chain, and a hook carried by the chain and detachably connected to the bell and adapted to engage the lower edge of the housing.

The combination of a mail box having ribs on its sides near its upper end, a cover hinged to the box and extending over the top of the same, a slide mounted below the said cover and having cleats engaging under the ribs on the box, an alarm, and a 'Flexible connection between the said slide and the alarm.

1n testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, 1 have hereto atixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LLOYD VNCENT ROOD.

Witnesses Davm H. THOMAS,

NATHANrEL E. Kinn. 

